It’s impossible to grade professional sports drafts immediately after they’re done. It’s easy to just play armchair general manager the next day. The NFL team that drafts the most popular players from teams with the largest college football fanbases, get the highest draft grades. No one is giving a team an A+ to a team that drafts interior linemen.

I recently completed a reDRAFT re-do of the 2010 NFL Draft and think I need to pump out the 2011 version. These two draft classes are quite different from a talent standpoint, but do have one thing in common, it wasn’t a very good quarterback class. Cam Newton was on another level compared to the rest of the group with Andy Dalton, Tyrod Taylor and Colin Kaepernick on the next level down.

In a draft class with Cam Newton, J.J. Watt, Von Miller, Richard Sherman and Julio Jones, which player gets taken first overall?

Which players would be taken in the first-round in a re-do of the 2011 NFL Draft?

People are starting to schedule banquet halls and/or reserve a larger orders of buffalo wings at your local bar in hopes of having the best fantasy football draft of all-time. Others opt to draft online and enjoy the festivities in their boxers.

Both are awesome, but I enjoy buffalo wings a little more than being anti-social.

The quarterback position is extremely deep in fantasy football this season. If you are in a ten-team league, I predict that every team could have a legit #1 quarterback. That hasn’t been the case in many years. There’s always a team or two that ends up with what should be a fantasy backup as their starting QB.

We rank the top 50 quarterbacks and split hairs when deciding spots 40 thru 50.

After eleven games, the Carolina Panthers have won eleven successive contests and look an absolute shoo-in to finish as the number one seed in the NFC. Quarterback Cam Newton has been sensational throughout the early stages of the campaign and is producing brilliant moments on offense despite losing primary wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to a season-ending injury in the summer.

On current form, the Panthers look well placed to challenge for a place in the Super Bowl and will fancy their chances of success in front of their home fans. In fact, Carolina haven’t lost in the regular season for over a year now – an impressive feat.

Is Newton worth $100+ million dollars? Most would say he isn’t, since he hasn’t really won anything in the NFL. You can also look at the garbage some NFL teams trot out as their starting quarterbacks and it makes you ponder that he could be worth a big contract.

The NFC South still appears to be one of the worst divisions in the NFL. Each team has at least one major flaw. The Panthers have the best defense in the division and they will carry them in many games, but is their offense up to the task?

Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady or Drew Brees have been the top fantasy quarterback picks over the last few seasons. The 2012 season is no different. The same trio is at the top of the preseason rankings and all of the usual suspects following them.

The quarterback situations in Seattle, Cleveland, Jacksonville, and Tennessee have left some question marks on where the value is at the quarterback position in fantasy football this season. Can you wait to pick a quarterback or will you have to grab one early or spend $45 dollars in an auction draft to have an elite QB.

We have some surprises for you in our quarterback rankings. I am not sold on Cam Newton this year and I love Philip Rivers more than most people. How will the rookie QBs fare this season?

Cam Newton added the firepower needed to put a spark back in Carolina Panthers’ fans. They spent the last few years without an identity and tore through three bad quarterbacks the year before his arrival. Expectations are now at an all-time high for the franchise, but can they deliver?

Fans need to take a step back from Newton’s hype and remember they were the worst team in the NFL as recently as 2010. If they can slowly improve their team each year, they are building a foundation to be a yearly contender…but they are not there yet.

Carolina was 6-10 in 2011 and Newton won the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award. He broke a handful of rookie records and teams will now be building defensive plans to stifle him. Can he still produce with the entire team’s defensive game plan focused on only shutting him down?

Fantasy Sleeper: WR David Gettis – Gettis is a very interesting sleeper this year. He suffered an ACL tear last season and never had the opportunity to experience the regular season with Cam Newton. He had 500+ yards in 2010 with a hodgepodge of quarterbacks throwing to him (Matt Moore, Jimmy Clausen and Tony Pike). Steve Smith had a Pro Bowl year in 2011 and Brandon LaFell had a promising season with 613 receiving yards. Gettis should win the #3 WR spot over Armanti Edwards and Joe Adams. Adams is someone to keep your eye on as a very deep sleeper. He is an impressive talent and could impress Carolina’s coaching staff in training camp.

Team Analysis: I am in the minority with my opinion of Carolina in 2012. I foresee teams going all-in on stopping Newton and causing a sophomore slump. If teams can keep him in the pocket and double-team Steve Smith, he’ll have a tough season. He will have to rely on Greg Olsen and Lafell heavily. Another reason for a regression in Newton’s numbers is the acquisition of Mike Goodson. He was a touchdown vulture in San Diego and Rob Chudzinski, Carolina’s offensive coordinator, was his coach there. Newton will not get the goal line carries he received in 2011. Carolina did add a nice young defensive piece by drafting Kuechly, but they need to fill a few more gaps on defense to stop New Orleans and Atlanta. Charles Johnson had a great season last year, but he needs more helping rushing the passer. I don’t see Carolina doing much this year, but keep an eye on them in 2013 and beyond. They need more playmakers on defense and another receiver to become a dependable option before they are playoff contender.

I went through every game this season and picked which team would win. The process took much longer than I anticipated but it is something that I enjoy doing every year. You should expect a lot of sports betting posts from me during the football season. I have had a lot of betting success with both NFL and NCAA college football. I like doing high-risk parlays that pay off well. I am looking forward to analyze the Week 1 point spreads as we get closer to the season.

I pick the over/under win totals for every NFL team this season. I pick a few underdogs and why Vegas has me confused by a couple over/under win totals. The 2012 NFL season will be a lot of fun. Here are my picks… Continue reading →